Register of the Madera County (Calif.) Sheriff's Wanted Notices Scrapbook, 1895-1911

Processed by Don Walker; machine-readable finding aid created by Don Walker
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University Library, University of the Pacific
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
URL: http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 1998
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.



Register of the Madera County (Calif.) Sheriff's Wanted Notices Scrapbook, 1895-1911

Collection number: Mss127

Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections

University Library

University of the Pacific

Contact Information

Processed by:
Don Walker
Date Completed:
1998
Encoded by:
Don Walker
© 1998 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Madera County (Calif.) Sheriff's Wanted Notices Scrapbook,
Date (inclusive): 1895-1911
Collection number: Mss127
Creator: Michael J. Canlis
Extent: 1 linear ft.
Repository: University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
Stockton, CA 95211
Shelf location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Madera County (Calif.) Sheriff's Wanted Notices Scrapbook, Mss127, Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library

Biography

Madera, was a lumber town that had been created when the California Lumber Company built a flume from their timber properties to the railroad (1876). For this reason, "Madera," the Spanish word for lumber, was chosen as the town's name. On March 11, 1893, that part of Fresno County north and west of the San Joaquin River was organized as a new county and named after the town. The granite city jail was built in 1876 and was the one of the oldest jails in California when torn down (ca. 1990). During the time in which these records were kept, S. W. Westfall, C.A.H. Warfield and S. C. Cornell were sheriffs in Madera County, while Frank B. Braire, was Madera city Chief of Police.

Scope and Content

The Madera County, California Sheriff's office used this wanted and reward circular scrapbook from 1895-1911. The scrapbook of 246 pages is comprised of reward and wanted notices from counties all over California and from other states as far away as Illinois and New York. Notices are in the form of postcards, printed flyers, and written letters. Many notices include photographs of the criminals or missing persons. There are detailed descriptions of stolen property and the suspected individuals. Many of the descriptions include Bertillon measurements. Crimes run the gamut from bigamy to theft. There are a number of circulars from detective agencies and from state prisons at Folsom, San Quentin and the Preston School of Industry, Ione. The scrapbook provides a review of criminals in California and the names of law officers in the state for the years covered.

Box Box 1

Madera Sheriff's Wanted Notices Scrapbook 1884-1911

Folder Folder 1

Scrapbook Ledger of 246 pages, 40 cm. [Missing pages include 1-2;5-6-11-12; 14-16; 29-30; 33-34; 37-44; 51-52; 65-68- 83-84; 91-92; 125-126; 133-136; 143-144; 159-160; 175-176; 187-188; 231-234. Some pages shows evidence that reward circulars have been removed.]

Folder Folder 2

Index of names and aliases of criminals and missing persons.

Folder Folder 3

Index of names and location of law enforcement officers and agencies.